Has their been a fix for the ability to drag and drop attachments and emails!

Question

Not being able to drag and drop from the New Outlook platform is crazy and a productivity loss. can you please advise the status of getting this back working or what is the work around.

Answer 1

Hello @DIANA DAVILA

Welcome to Q&A forum! 

Thank you for reaching out, I hope we can clarify this issue together.

Microsoft notes that drag-and-drop functionality in the New Outlook depends on several factors, including:

• the type of item you are dragging (file, email, attachment)
• the destination application
• whether that application supports Windows’ drag-and-drop shell handoff

-To clarify, could you confirm which AI application and which operating system you are using when attempting to drag and drop emails or attachments?

I will verify again and check whether this workflow is supported.

-Additionally, may I confirm that your goal is to take content from emails/attachments and use the AI tool to generate, explain, or summarize information from them?

For reference, I have checked the Copilot app, and it currently allows you to click “Add work content”, select the file you want to upload, and then include instructions in the prompt to analyze that file.

Microsoft Copilot

For complex emails, you may also try downloading them and re-uploading them into the app. I understand this takes extra time, but it can be a temporary workaround.

(Right click on this email and click "Download")

I look forward to hearing back from you so I can assist further!

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Answer 2

For New Outlook for Windows, drag-and-drop behavior depends on what is being dragged and where it is being dropped. There are also some known issues that have recently been fixed or are in the process of being rolled out.

1. Classic Outlook drag and drop broken on Windows 11 24H2 (fixed)

• On Windows 11 24H2, a Windows update (KB5050094 / KB5051987) caused classic Outlook to stop allowing drag and drop of emails and calendar items to folders.
• This has been fixed in the February 25, 2025 Windows Update (KB5052093). Installing that update restores normal drag-and-drop behavior in classic Outlook.
• As a temporary workaround on affected machines, switching Outlook’s display setting from “Optimize for compatibility” to “Optimize for best appearance” also restores drag-and-drop:
  1. File → Options.
  2. General → User interface options → select “Optimize for best appearance”.

2. New Outlook favorites + shared mailboxes drag-and-drop issue (fixed in new client builds)

• In New Outlook, there was a specific issue where:
  • A folder (such as Inbox) from a shared mailbox added under Favorites lost the mailbox name and showed only “Inbox”, and
  • Drag and drop to that Favorite folder showed a “block” icon and failed, even though drag and drop to the same folder in the shared mailbox tree worked.
• Status of fixes:
  • The missing mailbox name in Favorites is fixed in Client Version 20260108025 (New Outlook → Settings → General → About Outlook → Client Version).
  • The missing unread count and the inability to drag and drop to that Favorite folder are fixed in Client Version 20260121xxx, which is being deployed to production.
• Workaround until the updated client is installed:
  • Drag and drop messages directly to the folder in the shared mailbox folder tree instead of the Favorite entry, or
  • Update New Outlook to a build at or beyond the versions noted above when it becomes available in the tenant.

3. General drag-and-drop support and limitations (add-ins and cross-window scenarios)

• Outlook supports drag and drop of messages and attachments in many scenarios, but there are built-in limitations, especially when interacting with add-ins and across windows/clients. For example:
  • Drag and drop of multiple messages or multiple attachments at once is supported.
  • Drag and drop of a mix of messages and attachments at the same time is not supported.
  • Drag and drop from one Outlook client instance to another, or across different Outlook clients, is not supported.
  • Drag and drop from another mailbox or across two instances of the main Outlook window is not supported.
  • Drag and drop from a task pane back into the mailbox is not supported.
  • Drag and drop from the desktop into an add-in task pane is only supported when using the HTML Drag and Drop API, not the Office.js drag-and-drop API.

In summary, there is no general reversion of drag-and-drop support in New Outlook, but there are specific bugs (especially around Favorites and shared mailboxes) that have been fixed in recent client versions, and there are platform limitations that are by design. Ensuring the latest New Outlook client build and, for classic Outlook, the latest Windows 11 24H2 update (KB5052093) is the primary path to restoring expected drag-and-drop behavior.

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References:

• Unable to drag and drop emails to folders in classic Outlook
• Drag and drop messages and attachments into the task pane of an Outlook add-in
• Shared Mailboxes are not displaying it' names and the number of unread emails when pinned to the Favourites on New Outlook. - Microsoft Q&A
• Outlook Favourite name missing - Microsoft Q&A